Great Women of the 1920s: Sheila Chisholm
I think I mentioned the book, Sheila: The Australian beauty who bewitched British society when I first found it last year, but over the Easter long weekend, I dove back into it because Sheila Chisholm is interesting to me for a few reasons.
The first is because she was Australian and grew up not far from where I live.
She was also the mistress of Prince Bertie (the future King George IV) before he married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
Growing up in Australia
Sheila was the daughter of racehorse trainer Harry Chisholm, who was a descendant of a family who had helped settle and explore Australia, Sheila was born and raised on a sheep and horse station at Goulburn Plains, New South Wales.
Entering British Society
In the summer of 1914, she and her mother left Australia to go to London. They meant to see Europe and enter British society with Sheila to be presented at court, but the Great War started and their plans had to be abandoned.
World War One
Sheila’s brother John joined the army and was sent to the Mediterranean so Sheila and her mother went to Cairo hoping to meet him when he was on leave.
No one expected the disaster of Gallipoli or the deluge of wounded soldiers that were sent to Egypt—500 had been predicted, but 16,000 arrived, so Sheila volunteered to help with the nursing.
While visiting John in hospital, she met Lord Loughborough, heir to the Earl of Rosslyn. A wartime romance ensued, and they were married in Cairo in December 1915, returning to London in 1916, where Sheila joined the young married set and began to be extremely popular.
Charity work
She started working for charity, particularly helping the plight of Belgian refugee children, and became known as “mother of the orphans”.
By the last year of the war, she had become best friends with Freda Dudley Ward, a dashing young wife and mother who, like Sheila, was unhappily married.
During an air raid, Freda had taken shelter on the porch of a house in Belgravia at the same time as the Prince of Wales, who immediately fell in love with her and started a relationship that lasted until he was smitten by Wallis Simpson in the 1930s.
Bright Young Things
Because of this relationship, Sheila met Prince Albert “Bertie” the younger brother of the Prince of Wales and for the next few years, the foursome made hay dancing their way around London while it recovered from the war.
King George V had little success in persuading the Prince of Wales to give up unsuitable relationships, but in 1920 he managed to bring Bertie back to the straight and narrow by offering to create him Duke of York in return for giving up Sheila.
Style icon
After an amicable break with Bertie, Sheila remained a close friend of Freda, as well as the other leaders of London society like Lady Diana Manners and Lady Louise Mountbatten, and became famous for her individuality.
She was one of the first women to go hatless and had bare legs at a sailing regatta one year.
Sheila is also credited with being one of the first to adopt the shingle, at a time when long hair and the bob were the only admissible forms of hairdressing.
The Fleet Street newspapers hung on her every move, captivated by her style and her circle of illustrious friends and admirers, including film idol Rudolf Valentino, Wallis Simpson, Noel Coward, and Cecil Beaton.
Married three times to a Scottish lord, an English baron, and a Russian prince, she is a fascinating woman to learn about.
In her own words:
- On adventure: “Life’s a grand adventure, and I’m keen to explore every bit of it.”
- On love: “Love isn’t just about feelings; it’s about showing care and taking action.”
- On facing challenges: “It’s the hurdles we overcome that prove our strength and courage.”